We call for the immediate withdrawal of the proposed Media and Broadcasting Commission Bill.
This bill submitted to Parliament on August 18, seeks to dissolve the existing media oversight bodies, MMC and MBC, and to replace them with a new commission vested with sweeping punitive powers — including the authority to fine journalists and media organizations, suspend media licenses, block websites, and investigate past reporting.
We urge the Maldivian government, parliament and other actors to reject this bill, because it poses a grave threat to the constitutionally guaranteed rights to free speech, press freedom, and the right to information.
The proposed structure in the bill will pave the way for political appointees to spearhead the commission and the members elected by the media can be dismissed by the parliament raising grave concerns about independence and due process. 
The bill empowers a politicized commission to take punitive action even before an allegation is verified and retroactively censure media organizations.
This effectively places media operations under executive and legislative control.
In an environment where journalists continue to face physical and online violence, access to information is uneven and misinformation is becoming increasingly common in public discourse, this bill, if enacted, will lead to further erosion of public trust, decrease the quality of journalism and impact our right to information.
This right to free speech and the public’s right to know are undermined because this bill prioritizes control over transparency and state led overregulation in place of internationally recognized self-regulatory standards for media.
We urge lawmakers to reject this bill in its entirety and Media regulation must be rooted in independence, not influence. Oversight must protect the public interest, not silence it.The Maldives deserves a media landscape that is free, fair, and fearless.